The third Monday of January is believed to be ‘the most depressing day of the year.’ As a result, this day is commonly known and ‘Blue Monday.’ Although Monday Blues are very much a myth, it is important to acknowledge that some days are tougher than others; and that’s okay.
The Samaritans came up with a campaign to coincide with Blue Monday; as a way of encouraging people to talk to one another and support each other, or reach out to the charity themselves if they were struggling. This is also a great way for people to raise money for The Samaritans by hosting Brew Monday events with friends, family and locals!
For those who are unsure of what it is that The Samaritans do, here a brief idea of some of the incredible work that they do to help those in need.
- 24 Hour, FREE, phone line – 116 123: You can call The Samaritans and speak with one of their friendly, non-judgemental, caring, fully-trained volunteers. They will listen to you and support you in your time of need.
- Email service: Jo@Samaritans.org – This is for those who are not in urgent need of a response, but would still like someone to talk to about something that may be troubling them, or even just about how they are feeling. The volunteers aim to respond to your email within 24 hours.
- Freepost Samaritans – You can write letters to The Samaritans too! This is good for people who feel they can better express themselves when writing down their thoughts/feelings. Sometimes, writing how you feel, sealing it away, and posting it off to somewhere else, can have a rewarding feeling too!
- COMING SOON: Live Chat – You will soon be able to speak with one of their volunteers via a live chat on their website. This is a great way to communicate with someone when you are in need, especially if you find it hard to verbally express your thoughts. They recently ran a Pilot of this service and I was lucky enough to see how it worked. It was a great experience and I hope it is available on a permanent basis for people very soon!
You can find out more about The Samaritans, what they do and how you can contact them, here.
This Brew Monday I want to remind everyone that my inboxes and emails are always open! Please reach out to someone if you are struggling, whether it be with your mental health or just having something on your mind that you would like to discuss! There will never be any judgement here.
Alternatively, make use of some of the incredible charities; Samaritans and Mind Charity are amazing at what they do and I could not recommend them more!
There will be some questions and conversation starters across all of our social media pages tomorrow, please feel free to take part, we will do our best to respond to everyone! And please remember, to also support each other!
Have Hope Always,
Aimee and the STU Team xo
